The City Closest to Heaven
---- "I'm glad we could close this deal, trade between our two countries will likely begin shortly within the next few months," Primrose spoke, feeling pleased that they were able to come to a full agreement on the deal and that she had completed her original assignment of opening up trade between Caelum and Iceberg. She stood and gave a slight bow to Jupiter before being escorted out of the room, though, she doubted it would be the last time she would see the young king who had a habit of sneaking out to explore the city. She returned to her hotel room, using her communication lacrima to tell her assistant back in Iceberg of the good news so that it could be passed on to the queen. With that done, she sat in one of the benches outside the hotel figuring it was only a matter of time before he showed up. Sure enough, Jupiter sat down right next to her. "Good evening madame. Wonderful weather we're having." He had a large grin on his face, as always. "We should probably get going before the sun goes down." "The night doesn't bother me but staying in one place for too long will see to it that you start attracting unwanted attention so yes, let's be off." She said, her tone being what it had been when they'd first met. Regardless of their interactions she was a stubborn girl and wouldn't give Jupiter the satisfaction of calling her a friend quite yet. "I do trust you took my advice and actually explored the city, yes?" "A little bit by myself, but trust me, all the information we need is in here." They began walking for some time, winding through the streets of Othrys. "I'm going to be honest with you Primrose, the Lacrima River is the most amazing thing we have in this city. Most of the city is just small homes and businesses. The rest in construction. At least, that's what it appears to be on the surface." Jupiter took her to a construction site. "After you milady." He motioned for her to walk into the mine they had arrived at. She raises an eyebrow as she stares into the mine, turning back to Jupiter for a moment before letting out an exaggerated sigh. " Another dark hole that leads underground. If I didn't know any better I'd say a pattern is arising. One I'm wondering if I should start becoming concerned about," She spoke as she began walking into the mine anyway. "To be truthful, had the last time I followed you into a dark abyss not turned out so well I doubt I'd be doing it again but I do feel the need to ask if everything interesting about this city is in some dark hole underground?" "Unfortunately the most interesting thing above the ground is the castle. I can probably give you a full tour of that later. The city's much more lively during the festival. You should come this year, it's really fun." The cave wasn't very deep, soon, they found themselves in a dark clearing. "Lacrima emits its own magic because it's magical in nature. But for these kinds of things, you need to come prepared." Jupiter took out a golden lacrima from his pocket, throwing it into the air. Light shined from all around the sphere, showing that the room was full of glistening gold, blood red rubies, and a radiant pale blue metal. "This is where we mine our materials from. Useful for tools and whatnot, but also just pretty to look at." "I'll see if my schedule permits travel around that time. If so, I suppose I don't mind the idea of attending the festival. Though I must remind you that I dislike crowds, I normally prefer to keep to myself if you couldn't tell." She spoke, her eyes looking out over the mining site. Caelum certainly lives up to its reputation, I imagine this is only one of many mines across the country. Though I hope there aren't too many, it would be a shame to see the country sink into the ocean anytime in the near future." Jupiter chuckled. "We use Earth Mages to find the strong points in the foundation so that our tunnels won't collapse in on themselves. We also don't mine anything at risk of collapsing. We have enough, so we don't worry about risking lives to make a profit. Not to mention, we do a lot of mining in our mountain ranges as opposed to deep underground. We're still a few miles above sea level. And I'd recommend not touching the gold; it's Pyrane, highly poisonous." He through in that last bit of information for her safety. He figured she was smart enough to not just go around touching random objects but just wanted to be on the safe side. "If I may ask, was this country always like this? Even before the war your father waged? As I said, the last time I came here was the first so I remain unaware of what it was like beforehand. If you'd rather not talk about that it would be fine." She asked, her eyes remaining on the dig site rather than turning to Jupiter. Jupiter sighed. "400 years ago, before Othrys, before the great Cronus Saturnalia, Caelum was only several independent city-states. They would join forces to repel outside forces, but other than that, they were not truly unified. That's when my dad came in. He usurped the position of King of his hometown, and renamed it Othrys, after the mountain closest to heaven. Hence, his city became the city closest to heaven, on the peak of Mount Tam. Soon him, and his four Cardinals, began traveling across Caelum, conquering or annexing the rest of the provinces. His goal wasn't for dominance, but for unification. The trickiest part was the people. In order to win over the people, he did something that no other government had thought of at the time: he was kind. Sure it was only to meet his own ends, but the people loved him for it. For 400 years, Caelum has prospered under his rule." His words held weight. He believed everything he said with his entire heart. "Now Caelum is one of the most influential countries in Ishgar. And it's up to me to uphold that legacy." Suddenly Jupiter became flustered. "Although, if that's not what you were asking, I'm sorry." He nervously chuckled. "I suppose it really depends on what perspective you look at it from, " she states in reference to Jupiter's insistence that his father meant to unify rather than conquer. "I can't say I understand your father's choices but because of that same lack of understanding, I can't feel comfortable saying that he was unquestionably wrong. Regardless, that's not my place." She spoke, reaching her arms upward to stretch before finally turning back to face Jupiter. "No matter how practical a society develops to be there is always the constant need to maintain morale lest they drown in the constant monotony of it all and thus I feel confident in saying that somewhere in this town is a place that people tend to gather and have 'fun'. So long as wherever that place is also happens to be above ground, I would very much like to visit. I can't help but wonder how the entertainment in Caelum competes with that of my homeland." Jupiter looked up for a second, almost as if he was thinking. "Alright, I know the perfect place. Come on!" He took her hand as he raced out of the cave, practically dragging her along with him. It wasn't long before they found themselves in a park. It was the only place where grass was growing. A single tree, with a swing tied around its strongest branch, stood in the center. Even the temperature seemed to a bit warmer, and the air more breathable. "It was made by Green Magic users. It's the only place in the city with real vegetation, so people like to come here a lot to play." Primrose was a bit disappointed in the display, though, it did look like an attempt was made to create something alive in the otherwise lifeless stone city. "Yes, it's certainly a lovely spot. A welcome break from being led into underground caverns for sure." She spoke, figuring she'd take what she could get. "If I may ask, why is it that this place has so few life to it? Aside from the occasional hanging garden this certainly is the only bit of greenery I have seen since entering the city. Even the more industrial cities of Iceberg have vegetation and with so many minerals in your soil I would think the ground would support a great deal of life." She asks, a genuine curiosity inside her. "We have minerals, but not soil," answered Jupiter. "You get small amounts of green growing out of mountain crevices in Caelum, but nothing like this. We're working on expanding this zone, however, that would involve the eviction of several citizens from their homes. Othrys is pretty tight in space. But as the citizens here have very little of their own green, they generally seem content with what we have here." Jupiter laid down on the grass. "It's like a blanket made from living things." Jupiter patted the ground next to him. A blanket made of living things she says in her head, grass not being the first image to come into the mind of the mercenary who has carpeted the floor with its own share of once living things more times than she could count but her job was her job and while the comparison made her shiver a bit the actual actions did not weigh on her heart. "Yes, I suppose it would be hard for them to complain about this if they don't have anything to compare it to." She spoke before taking Jupiter's offer and sitting onto the ground and sitting with crossed legs. "It is a bit warmer than the other area's I've visited here. The air is cleaner too, I imagine it would be a nice place to come and think." "Yeah, my sister comes here all the time. It's where she drew up plans for reconstruction. Everything you see here today is her doing. She's probably the best person I know. Me on the other hand, when I do leave, I like to come here and nap." "Surely you don't mean you come here alone to sleep out in the open. While I don't personally believe it is smart of you to even be out right now, sleeping out here all alone sounds like a truly suicidal choice to make." She says, feeling disbelief in Jupiter's story. "Your father has plenty enemies and even if you know all of them by name I'm afraid that there are plenty of nameless, faceless people who would love to upset the balance by killing a king. You live with a target on your back after all." Jupiter leaned forward. "I don't really talk about this a lot, it's not really necessary, but my mind shares a direct link with each of my soldiers in the Legion Under the Black Sun. They know where I am, what I'm doing, and how to help me at all times. Jaco and Noah can be at my side in an instant, and Velocity's not going to be that far behind." Suddenly his eyes lit up. "I want you to meet my family." Primrose didn't know what to make of the sudden offer, "I don't really think that's necessary." She quickly responded, " I mean, well..." She struggled to find any real excuse for not going along with Jupiter's plan aside from her not wanting to. "It's just..." She continued to search for any words that might get her out of the situation. "Why do you want me to meet them in the first place?" She asked, throwing the ball onto his side so that he would have to defend his reasoning. "There the ones that keep this place safe, the ones that keep this place running, the ones that keep me safe. Look, you won't have to meet all of them, just my ten commanders. Meeting all 6000 of my soldiers would take a long time. Oh, and I also want you to meet my sister." That doesn't answer my question she yells in her head but ultimately lets out a sigh, doubting Jupiter would let it go without a good reason and due to the fact that she didn't have one the only choice was to go along with it or to leave. "Fine, but I don't know what it's going to accomplish." "Think about it this way," said Jupiter as he began leading her back to the castle, "if you meet my commanders, you'll gain a better understanding of how the military of Caelum works. Caelum is a bit more militaristic than other countries in Ishgar. The only ones who have had the pleasure of meeting my personal army are the Mages of Dragon Gunfire, and that wasn't exactly on good terms." "I suppose," she responded with the two quick words despite still finding the idea somewhat uncomfortable. She saw no reason for his actions and no way she could use whatever knowledge she would gain from the experience. After all, Caelum was not her territory to monitor. Giving in and deciding to follow along for the time being, she allowed him to drag her to the castle to meet these individuals. It wasn't much longer before they were back in the castle. The ten commanders were already lined up in the throne room, in order from their cohort numbers. "Let's start with the lowest and work our way up. This is Librum: The Librarian, commander of the 10th Cohort of the Legion and our official record keeper. Next is Adze: The Cleaver, commander of the 9th Cohort of the Legion. This is Manos: Hydra, commander of the 8th Cohort. This is Haven: Red Massacre, and commander of the 7th cohort. This is Reaper: The Angel of Death: commander 6th cohort and my personal assassin. Now we get into my top five commanders, the ones that really get things done around here. The commander of fifth cohort, Ragna: The World Scorcher, and my valued advisor. Next is Largo: The Undetectable, and the commander of the 4th cohort. Ranked third is Velocity: The Air God, as well as being my personal messenger within the Legion and primary escort. Second is Alexius: The Blue Devil, and runner up for the leadership position of the Legion. And finally Jaco: My Primus Pilus, My Demon of Destruction, and the general of the Legion, as well as the commander of the first cohort." The ten commanders made a small bow to Jupiter and Primrose. "It is an honor to become acquainted with you Lady Rookheart," said Alexius. "It is not often that our master gets to introduce us to a friend of his." Primrose responded with a slight curtsy, "the honor is all mine. I can't say that it is often that I am greeted by military commanders either so this is indeed an experience for both parties." She responds with a half smile on her face before she turned once more to Jupiter and spoke to him, "Aside from their role as commanders, what purpose do they function within your military? Their individual talents and, with all due respect, their weaknesses as well if I may be so bold as to ask?" Jupiter grinned. "You wouldn't be hoping to take down my soldiers with your army someday, are you Primrose?" There was a moment of silence before he broke it with a chuckle. "Just kidding. Although, I'm not at liberty to divulge that information. They prefer to keep their special talents a secret. Now come on, I want you to meet my sister. The others I had to build, but out of everyone in Earth Land, she's the only one that's truly family." "You can't blame a girl for trying, can you? Especially not after luring her here with the promise of learning more about Caelum's military." She said with a bit of playful sass in her voice, doing her best to steer the conversation into more lighthearted territory than have her intentions questioned. The last thing she needed, after all, would be to be found out in a country not even hers to overthrow. "I suppose there would be no harm in moving on. Though, it is quite sad to leave so soon when your commanders just said they were rarely introduced to your acquaintances." "Speaking of which..." said Jupiter, "Jaco, have you seen Altar?" The Demon closed his eyes briefly. Opening them, he made an annoyed grunt. "Weird. Well, make sure to find him later." Jupiter once again took Primrose's hand, walking her over to the nearby room. He knocked on the door. There was a quick "come in", and the two entered. She was in the middle of the room, hard at work, with a soldier of the Legion floating in front of her, another one standing behind her, with golden hair and peach skin, as she worked. Despite the differences in their skin tones, Jupiter and Proserpina did look very much alike. "What brings you to my room?" she asked, not even looking up. "There's someone I'd like you to meet," responded Jupiter. Primrose removed Jupiter's hand from her wrist, disliking being manhandled by the far too excited boy. Clearing her throat, she turned her attention toward the woman in the room who she could only assume was the sister Jupiter had mentioned before. "Hello, I do believe we've met briefly before but have never taken the time to introduce ourselves." She spoke before bowing slightly, "I am Primrose Rookheart, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." At that time, Proserpina had finished her work. The glow surrounding the soldier faded, and he landed on his feet. After a quick bow, he phased through the ground and was gone. "Phase-shifter," said Proserpina as she walked over to Primrose. "Jupiter's told me a lot about you." She held out her hand to shake. "I think you're his first friend outside of the Legion."